Help me, people.
I need some inspiration.
For photography. For myself. For life.
It’s been a long road since I was laid off. I’ve worked to find a career — a job that I am suited for. It’s a tough job market out there. But it’s been frustrating. Recently, I got a flood of rejection letters. That was tough as several were jobs I really was interested in.
No calls. Nothing. Just a “thank you, but we’ve gone in a different direction” letter.
I need some sort of peace. Some sort of inner zen. Something to clear my mind and make me realize that eventually, life will get better. It won’t be all about paying bills from unemployment dollars. It will be being able to afford certain things that I would like to so. Simple things. Things that make me smile.
I need to realize that the sun will eventually come up in a brighter way (outside of this heat wave we’ve been stuck in!)
So, how can you help me?
Well, it’s simple.
I need to go somewhere. Not far as the funds won’t allow it. I want to find a weekend trip. Some place where I can sit and realize life is good just by staring. Some place I can clear my mind.
Remember, I don’t have money to go to big places.
My plan? To have it in driving range. I’d leave on a Friday. Come back late Sunday night. I don’t need computers. I don’t need luxury. I might take a tent and camp. I might sleep in my car. I might find a cheap motel on the side of a road, just to take a shower. Who knows. But I just need to find a place to get away and clear my head.
Do I head toward Maine and sit atop Cadillac Mountain and stare out at an amazing sunrise?
Do I find a secluded beach somewhere, stick my feet in the sand and just think?
How about a small town with some amazing minor league baseball?
Maybe it’s a geocaching adventure into the Adirondacks? (though that might defeat the purpose!)
Maybe I should go off to find some new covered bridges or waterfalls in New England?
Or a place I need to see, just because?
This could all be a dream, too. I need to pay for gas for this trip, so I have to make sure I can pull it off. I have no issues taking a cooler with peanut butter, bread, some chips and some fruit and eating away the weekend that way. My camera and my iPod would be my true entertainment.
So what do you all think? Remember, I’m in central New York. I don’t want to have to drive 15 hours to go somewhere. But a 6-8 hour ride? Sure. I’d do it if I could do it financially and within reason.
So help me clear my mind. That’s what I want to do here. Who knows what weekend I’ll do it. Could be soon. Could be in August. Could be never. But I’m debating it to see what I could possibly pull off to clear my head and make me realize life’s pretty grand right now. Believe me, I know it doesn’t suck. There are, unfortunately, a lot of people out there who have it worse than me. And I know that. But in times like this, it’s hard to think about others when you wonder about yourself, your path and your future.
If you have ideas, drop ’em in the comment area!
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com.
hey buddy! come on down to Chesapeake! I have an extra bedroom that you can stay in for as long as you like!
How long of a trip down is that? I’ll put it on the “to consider” list!
I hope some others chime in with ideas here. I am leaning toward Maine again as I’d love to see the West Quoddy Lighthouse, then work my way down to Acadia and see a few more lighthouses. Especially if I can find cheap placed to stay.
West Quoddy Lighthouse search on Flickr (how cool is this lighthouse?): http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=west+quoddy+lighthouse&m=text
How about hop on the Appalachian trail for a day (or two) hike? do some camping. It’s relatively cheap!
Though an interesting idea — and one I might consider at some point down the line — where I’d want to go for a hike for a day or two will go beyond the time limit I’d like to do. If I was going to just do a day, I’d want to go to the south more. I’m not in the shape needed for the New England parts as of now!!
it’s about 8.5 – 9 hours
and the Shenandoahs are only 2 hrs from here
lighthouse in hatteras is about 2.5 hrs from here too
like i said, you could stay as long as you like
Tom, I will highly consider it. The Shenandoahs are something I would be interested in (and could think about a few hours on the AT, as Erika mentioned). I will think about it for sure.
There’s a few good-looking disc golf courses near you, too. 🙂
and 100’s of geocaches!
Do you cache?
Sometimes it’s fun just to discover a new spot in your town too… 🙂 I’d like to go camping near here someday… If I had a tent. Just the change of scenery.